NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE M arco Rubio is all in for “industrial policy”: In a speech Tuesday, he said the government should identify “specific industrial sectors” that make important products and/or create good jobs and “spur[] investment in them.” He highlighted the potential for such a policy to counter the rise of China, and as for the industries he’d ultimately like to help, he mentioned rare-earth-mineral mining, aerospace, rail, electronics, telecommunications, and agricultural machinery.

His critics have launched a number of attacks, centering largely on the notion that the government should not be picking winners and losers in the economy. Indeed, even someone greatly worried about …